Assassin's Game
by fowlgirl19
Summary: Cassandra is one of the most feared assassins in Europe. She usually hides her secret life from her family who thinks they having "the ideal daughter". But after an accidental discovery, she might endanger her family and what might be her only true love
1. Front Page

The man was sitting at his desk, not knowing what the night has in store for him. His office was a luxurious one on the top floor of a sixty floor spire: butterscotch walls with pictures of landscapes and ocean views, pine green carpeting that came up to a person's ankles, completed with an entire glass wall overlooking the entire city. The only thing it didn't have was a security system. Why? Who'd be crazy enough to rob a person half-working, half-living on the 60th floor of a building? But then again, this was no ordinary heist; it was a heist for a life. The man thought he heard something; he looked up from his papers... and saw her. In the dim light of the moon, he saw her figure... like a goddess. As she advanced towards him with her hips swaying from side to side, he broke out into a sweat, whether it was from fear or ecstasy, he couldn't tell or cared for that matter. At last one of them spoke.

"W-Who a-are you?"

Her blood red lips curled up into a smile and whispered in a voice that belonged to the devil's daughter, "That's not important right now."

The man nodded, "How d-did you g-get in here?"

"That's not important."

The intruder came dangerously close to the man, so close, he could smell her perfume.

"What do y-you w-want from m-m-me?"

She giggled, "Your life."

And before he could even blink, she shot with the pistol she had on her thigh holster, killing him instantly. She chuckled and left her calling card on the man's bloody wound: a card with a large "M" made from an ebony snake with crimson jewels for eyes. But before she placed on the dying corpse, she kissed the "M", staining it with her blood red lips and fled.

On the Hemlock's dinner table, a newspaper was picked up by a resident of the house there. The headline read, "CEO of Samson Corporations Found Dead. Police Suspects Medusa." A teen with mid-back layered copper hair, ocean blue eyes, and lightly tanned skin smiled to herself.

_Looks like I made the front page... again._


	2. Questions

Spoilers for TLC!

* * *

Artemis Fowl II has been home for one week already and from the first day he came home… everything had already changed. He could still remember the first thing that happened: He got hit in the head with a toy mouse.

* * *

_Artemis looked at his manservant with undecided eyes._

_"But Butler, what if they don't… believe me?"_

_The seven foot high man looked down and smiled at his troubled charge, "They're your parents, __Artemis;__ of course they'll believe you. Now open the door."_

_He did and was going to say "Mother and Father! I'm home!", but instead this came out of his mouth._

_"Oof!"

* * *

_

And then he fell into a well-deserved sleep that lasted until this morning. He was woken up by his new hyperactive two year old twin brothers jumping up and down on his bed… and his stomach. As he was getting dressed, his mother smothered him into a hug like none other he had experienced except for that single hug he had received when he when twelve. Right now, he was looking up at the newspaper in front of his father's face in the dining room (but he wasn't doing much eating). The headline read: "_CEO of Samson Corporations Found Dead. Police Suspects Medusa._"

_Hmm__…__. I wonder who __this "Medusa" character is.__ What __**has**__ been happening since I've been gone?_

"Father?"

Artemis Senior peered at his son over the newspaper, "Yes, Arty Boy? What is it?"

Artemis took a deep breath to calm his surprisingly nervous self, "Wh-What exactly has been happening since I... I was away?"

His father stared at him while he set the paper down, "A lot has been happening, my son, a lot. Why?"

He looked to the gorgeous painting to his left, "I honestly don't know, it's just that, well, it's like I don't really know what going on since I've been gone for three years."

"I see. Well, I'll help the best I can." He smiled at his firstborn, "What do you want to know?"

"Well... Who is that "Medusa" on the front page?"

Artemis noticed his father, who had his eyes closed, exhaled and smiled, "Is that all?" His son nodded, "Well,a few months after your disappearance, Medusa just appeared out of nowhere and just started assassinating people. Very importantpeople who run empires."

Artemis' eyes widened after that statement and looked at his father in disbelief, "Y-You mean..."

His father nodded grimly, "She's targeting me next."

"D-Does Mother, Butler, Juliet, o-or the twins know?"

Artemis Fowl I looked into his cup of dark, black coffee and whispered the word that he knew would worry his son to no end, "No."

* * *

A man that has the past of a great army general was sitting in a dark room that had a huge wall of dimly lit computer screens as a source of light. The same copper haired girl walked into the control room.

"Has he figured it out, Nigel?"

Sergeant Nigel Rivers smiled at the young girl, "Yes, my dear, it seems that his son has returned."

"I see."

"Shall I warn Master Kane?"

She smiled a mini vampire smile that could send shivers down anybody's spine, "No, I shall see that his son is... out of the way by the time his father is eliminated." Her lips curled into smiled that expressed extreme pleasure. "Don't you worry, Nigel, just do what _you_ do best and I'll do what _I_ do best."

Nigel rose from his swivel chair and smiled slightly at the girl before him, "Of course, Miss Hemlock." He started to walk to the door but stopped, turned and looked at her once more, "Shall I inform your parents of your "absence" for the next week?"

Cassandra smiled at him, "No. I think I'll spend the week with them so they won't worry."

Nigel bowed to her, "As you wish."And walked out of the room leaving Cassandra Hemlock alone in there.

* * *

What do you guys think? Is this a good story to write? 


	3. Tutor

The next day, Artemis (to his dismay) had to resume his new term. To his surprise, St. Bartelby's had become a mixed school over the course of thethree years that he was gone for.

"Father?" He asked as his dad was driving, "Is this really necessary?"

His father, who volunteered to be his driver that day, responded with, "Yes. I know that you have a lot of potential Arty Boy, I just don't want you to keep it to yourself."

Artemis rolled his eyes, If only he knew.

As the Bentley stopped in front of the prestigious gates, something caught his eye, a chestnut hair girl with beautiful ocean blue eyes. He continued look at the girl as he walked to the gate, earning stares himself, he has been gone for three years after all. He noticed that the "new" girl has been in all of his classes and then... he did what he has never done before with a girl his age. He strikes up a conversation with her... inchemistry class.

He was sitting next to her because she was his partner and said the first word that came to his mind, "Hello."

She looked up from the serum that they were assigned to make and smiled, "Hello."

He held out his hand to her, "Artemis Fowl... the Second."

She smiled again and shook his hand, "Cassandra Hemlock."

Artemis thought to himself; She has a pretty nice smile.But hekept that thought to himself and continued, "I haven't seen you around here that much."

Cassandra smirked and giggled, "Well... let's see... the last you were here, it was an all boys' school... and... you've been gone for the past three years."

The boy that was gone smirked back, "That's true, Cassandra." She smiled to which he responded with, "Did I do something wrong?"

She shook her head, "No, it's just that I'm glad that you called me Cassandra. You see, most of the people I meet call me Cassie."

"You don't like being called Ca--"

She shushed and glared at him, "No, I don't!"

"So I guess I shall call you Cassandra."

She looked like she was thinking about and smiled, "All right, Artemis, but only if you... do me a favor."

"Which is?"

Cassandra giggled, "I don't know yet."

"Tell me when you think of one."

"Okay."

"Mr. Fowl! Ms. Hemlock! Would care to repeat what I just said?!" The teacher Mr. Barnes barked.

They reiterated what their oh-so-loving teacher (after oddly completing each other's sentences) the bell rung. As everyone filed out, the two were the only ones in the room.

"Hey, Artemis?"

"Hmm?"

"I finally figured out what the favor is."

He looked at her ocean blue eyes, "What is it?"

"Can... I... come over to your house? I... sort of need... a tutor." She blushed with embarrassment.

Artemis smirked, "Of course. What do you need help with?"

"My extra class, Psychology. Ever since I came here, I always wanted to learn it... but Dr. Po--"

"He's still here?"

Cassie nodded, "But he would only talk about how you baffled him. So... I felt like you were an expert."

"You're right."

"So... will you tutor me?"

Artemis made his lips curl into what could be classified as a smile, "Of course."

Cassandra smiled at him again, "Thanks... and I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier."

"It's all right. May I walk you to your next claas?"

"I'd like that."

* * *

I hope this is turning out well! 


	4. Phase One

Unfortunately for Cassandra and Artemis, the day wasn't completely over. The only class left for the both of them was... Psychology with Dr. Po! Being the gentleman that Artemis was, he walked Cassandra to all of her classes... since they had the same schedule.

Hearing that Dr. Po was teaching a psychology class, Artemis asked what any would if they thought the teacher was not qualified, "What are they mad? Letting that idiot teach psychology?"

Cassie laughed and smirked at him, "You only think he's an idiot because you outsmarted him!"

Artemis stared at her, "Your point?"

She just laughed again and knocked on the "teacher's" door. "Dr. Po? It's me, and I hope you don't mind that I brought a guest!"

From the inside of the room they heard a cheery voice, "Of course not, Cassie! Well, come on in!"

As they entered the still empty room, Dr. Po was leaning intently over his desk full of papers, folders, and pencils smiling without a care in the world. When he looked up to greet his favorite student and her "guest", well... that was a different story.

"Ah, hello Cassandr-- ahhhh!" He let out what seemed like a terrified squeak when he saw the pale, raven haired youth with disbelief and anxiety.He pointed his shaking index finger at Artemis with fear and squeaked more than yelled, "Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What's h-h-he d-d-doing h-h-here?!!!!"

Cassie took a step back with a nervous smile on her face, "Did I do something wrong?"

Dr. Po, who was now standing, breathed deeply and said, "No. No, you didn't do anything wrong." He smiled a crooked smile... and fainted with a loud thump.

The only two teens in there just walked over and stared at the now unconscious counselor... and tiptoed out of the classroom.

* * *

At the end of the day, Artemis and Cassandra headed to the parking lot where Butler and Cassandra's own personal assistant were waiting and... apparently talking.

Artemis raised an eyebrow at the two chatting drivers, "Hello, Butler and...?"

Butler smiled at his charge, "Hello, Artemis." He looked to his side, "And who's this young lady?"

Cassandra turned away with a red tinge on her face, "I-I'm Cassandra. Cassandra Hemlock."

The manservant smiled warmly at her, "Call me, Butler. And I take it Nigel is your bodyguard?"

Cassie turned back and nodded, "Uh-huh. Nigel, will you please tell my parents that I'll be at a friend's house?"

The Eurussian (He's European and Russian)nodded at his principal. "Yes of course, Miss Hemlock. But may I talk with you in private?"

"Of course." Cassandra turned to Artemis, "Will you hold my backpack? I just need to go over the safety stuff with him."Artemis nodded and Cassie smiled in response as she disappeared behind the giant olive green Hummer.

* * *

The smile faded as soon as Artemis and his big and bulky bodyguard were out of sight.

She looked sternly at Nigel, "Do you know what to do?"

"Yes, Miss Cassandra, be careful,we don't know what their security is like."

She smiled a vicious smile, "Not yet we don't. All I have to do is find someone clueless enough to show me every speck of Fowl Manor's security system and the first phase will be complete."

Rivers smirked, "Master Kane will be especially proud with the first phase being completed so quickly."

"Isn't he always proud of us?"

"Yes, he is. Now, don't forget the blueprints of the building."

"I won't, Nigel."

"Of course. I will come to pick you up as soon as you call."

Cassandra nodded and thought to herself.

_Hope you've enjoyed the time you've spent with your father dear Artemis, because his time's run out._

The last sentence echoed in her head with _**extra**_ malice.


	5. Fowl Manor

Cassandra came out from behind the Hummer beaming. "Sorry! Nigel is, as always, very overprotective."

Butler smirked, "He's always been like that; believe me."

He was leading the teens to the Bentley as he told them about his friend. Once they got in, with Butler driving, Artemis was bored and staring out the window while Cassie was listening very intently.

"So you and he really worked in Beijing?"

"Uh-huh. But I was always the secure one. One time, he was in charge of setting up the traps, and we got ambushed instead."

"Wow. No wonder we got robbed."

At the word "robbed", Artemis jumped into the conversation instantly, "You got robbed?"

"Twice... Well, actually three if you count that time I was home alone last year." She shook her head, "I really think he has lost his touch."

The Eurasian man looked at him with confused eyes, "He left you alone?"

The lone female nodded, "He had to escort my mom and dad to a gala and decided that it was best for me to stay home where I wouldn't get into too much trouble."

The Greek genius responded with, "I see." And started a conversation about being home alone as well.

But Butler's brain was elsewhere, Leaving a girl--a minor at that--alone in a house just to escort her parents? It just doesn't sound like Nigel. Maybe he really has lost his touch. These and other thoughts worried the bodyguard, but then again, it really wasn't his problem.

* * *

When they arrived at Fowl Manor, both of Artemis' parents, especially his mother, were ecstatic that he brought a friend home on his first day back. 

His mother spoke first with a huge smile on her face, "Oh, Arty! Who's your friend?"

Artemis Sr. winked at his eldest son, "Well, don't just stand there! Come in! Come in!"

Cassandra looked in awe around the manor, but was paying more attention to the placement of the security cameras. A crash of something expensive (what wouldn't be) reached all of their ears. A female's voice echoed throughout the lobby.

"Myles! Beckett! Get back here!"

Two twin blue eyed boys, one with brown hair and one with black hair, came bounding into the room with a blond girl chasing after them. She skidded to a stop as the twins hid behind their mother.

"Mrs. Fowl! I am so sorry! The twins broke the Milan statuette from your recent trip!"

The brown haired woman smiled gently at her, "It's all right, Juliet, as long as nobody got hurt... Juliet, this is--"

Cassandra faked a blush and stuck her hand out, "I'm sorry. I'm Cassandra. Cassandra Hemlock."

Juliet grinned back, "Nice to meet you! If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm Juliet, Butler's little sister."

Cassandra smiled as she thought, _I think I just found the clueless person to give me a tour of Fowl Manor._


	6. Thoughts

Over the course of ten minutes, Cassie got acquainted more with the other members of the Fowl family. So there they were sitting down on a lavish couch in the living room. Cassie was in a lounge chair with a brown haired Beckett sitting in her lap and a black haired Myles curled up at her feet.

Their mother smiled at Cassandra, "My boys really seem to like you, Cassandra."

She giggled, "I like them too; the twins are cute!"

Juliet came up on her right and whispered, "But what do you think of Arty?"

She raised an eyebrow at her and thought, Yep, I should definitely ask her to give me the tour. But she said with a false red tinge and in a hushed whisper so only Juliet could hear her, "I-I sorta like him..."

So then Juliet grinned from ear to ear, "We need to schedule some girl time! So we can talk all about it!"

Cassandra's grin, however, wasn't as cheerful as Juliet's, "S-Sure? But actually, I need a favor."

The blond girl's smile faltered a bit, "What is it?"

Cassie looked down at the drowsy Beckett and started to stroke his cheek so he could sleep, "If any of you don't mind..." Her ocean blue eyes watched the expressions of each of the people in the room--especially Artemis and Butler's, "If I could have a tour of your manor?"

All of them exchanged confused glances, but Mr. Fowl spoke,"Well, Cassandra, why would you need a tour of the manor?"

Cassie opened her mouth, but Artemis beat her to the punch, "I'm going to be tutoring her for the time being. Is that all right with you?"

His parents exchanged glances again--happy ones-- and Mrs. Fowl beamed at her son and his "student", "Oh! That would be wonderful! And of course you may have a tour of the manor, Cassie."

She flinched at the nickname, "Thank you, Mrs. Fowl, but could you please do me a huge favor?"

"Of course, dear, what is it?"

Cassie looked "embarrassed", "Well..."

"Don't be shy."

"Well, could you not call me 'Cassie'? Please?"

"Well, if you don't mind me asking, why not?"

Her eyes casted to the Terra cotta flooring, "It... brings up... memories."

Angeline's eyes widened for a moment, "Oh, I-I'm sorry."

Cassandra sighed and smiled at the mother of three, "It's all right." She kept her eyes on his mother, but directed the statement towards Artemis II, "Not many people know that much about me."

It was silent for a few moments, but Juliet piped up, "Hey! Why don't I give you that tour now? Before Arty has to teach you!"

Artemis glared at Juliet who smiled and Cassie laughed, "Okay, but first..." She got up, stepped over Myles, and gave Beckett back to his mommy. "All right! I'm ready now!"

Juliet beamed again and grabbed her by the upper arm, "Then let's go!"

Before she was dragged out of the room, Cassandra called out to Artemis, "Can you bring my laptop to where we're going to study?!"

He nodded and mouthed, 'The library.'

Artemis went upstairs to the library with Butler close behind him carrying Cassandra's backpack (You didn't actually think he'd carry it? Did you?). During that seven minute walk from the living room to their designated room, he did some thinking.

_Hmm... Cassandra Hemlock. She'll be an interesting student. I wonder why she doesn't like to be called Cassie? I think Cassandra fits her better. It's more old-fashioned, elegant, and beautif--I did not just think that! Blast this puberty! Ugh! It keeps sneaking around in my thoughts waiting for the perfect opportunity to slip into a conversation or a plan! This **needs** to stop._

"Artemis?"

The boy genius stopped thinking and walking, "Yes?"

"You passed the library."

"Oh?"

Butler nodded and pointed to something, "Yes, see? There's Juliet and Cassandra."

And sure enough, they were there.

Artemis went back into his thinking spot, _And not to mention the fact that puberty is affecting my sense of coordination._


	7. Phone Calls

Artemis and Butler were just standing there (Artemis was thinking but, you know, still standing), watching Juliet and Cassandra talking for a few moments and ending with Juliet having a cheesy grin on her face and walking off and waving good bye to her new friend.

Shaking her head, Cassie walked over to Artemis, who was now watching her approach him, "Hey."

He smirked, "Hello."He opened the door to the library and held it open for her, "Shall we?"

She giggled, "We shall." And stepped into the large room.

Artemis looked at Butler and mouthed, 'Go do some surveillance.'Butler smiled, then grinned and walked away.

The genius strode into the room to find his new student sitting at a table and smiling at him. God, she has a beautiful smile. But he quickly dismissed that thought and continued his way to the table.

"So, what are you having with in psychology?"

Cassandra looked away with a look of embarrassment, "We're learning the basics of biopsychology, but I haven't really grasped them yet."

Artemis couldn't contain a grin, "That's all?"

Cassie glared at her tutor, "Hey, not everybody can be as smart as you."

Artemis smirked, "That's true."

Cassandra rolled her eyes, "Of course it is. Now tutor me."

"Gladly."

It took an hour and a half, but he finally got her to understand the basics… and they even got to know each other a bit more! But, something was wrong.

"Artemis?"

"Hmm?"

Cassie looked up from the assignment she was doing, "Where's my backpack?"

In Hemlock Villa, Nigel Rivers was smiling to himself.

It looks like Butler still has Cassandra's backpack…. Excellent.

Nigel was sitting in the same room as last night, the security station which had a live video feed from every room in the mansion… and out. There was a special camera built into the outside flap of her bag. It was virtually undetectable by every system known to man. He switched the main screen from the villa's grounds to her spy-cam. He saw his old friend in the same position as he was in, staring intently at his camera's feeds. The only difference, however, was, Butler couldn't see inside his room.

Nigel's lips curled at the thought of his charge outwitting the infamous Artemis Fowl II. "You do what you do best, my dear Cassandra, and I will do what I do best."

The phone rang, hastily; he picked it up and answered it in his gruff voice, "Hello?"

"Cossack…"

He straightened up, "M-Master Kane! I didn't expect that you would call so soon!"

"Is Cassie there?"

Nigel thought to himself, Master Kane is the only who can call Miss Cassandra by her nickname. No one else or they'll lose their life. But he said, "No. She is still at the target's house."

There were a few moments of silence, but then, "Cossack?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Ask Cassie to contact me immediately when she gets back."

"I-I-I can have her call you now, Master."

"…. Very well. But make it quick and tell her to use _the_ number."

"Yes, sir."

The phone clicked and only the dial tone was heard. Only a few things scared Nigel Rivers: failure, death, and upsetting Master Kane. If he had to choose only one of the three, he would have died first. He made the call to Cassandra's cellphone, only to remember that it was in her backpack. He was going to hang up, but a voice was heard at the other end.

"Hello?"

"Domovoi?"

"Nigel! What's wrong? Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine. Will you please give Miss Cassandra her phone? I need to speak with her."

"Sure. Hold on."

With luck, his friend picked up her bag and started walking, giving Nigel the perfect view of where all of the cameras were. Not that he already knew, but still, it was good to know for sure the exact placement of the cameras. He saw Butler open a door revealing a library and soon after, Cassandra and Artemis.

Butler held out the phone to her, "It's Nigel."

Cassie looked surprised to see her own phone in his giant hand, "T-Thanks." She excused herself and got up, walking outside to the hallway. She made sure nobody was in sight and spoke in an icy cold tone, "What is it?"

"Master Kane called, Miss Cassandra. He wants you to call him back as soon as possible."

"All right. I'll call back with the details. Good bye, Nigel." And she snapped the phone, reopened it and used a special speed dial number that was impossible to trace and waited.

On the third ring, the same smooth and velvety tone that had contacted 'Cossack' answered her. "Glad you called, my dear Cassie. I have some information that will certainly be of good use to you in your mission."


	8. Pinged

Cassandra had an intrigued look on her face. "Really, Master Kane?"

"Yes. Listen carefully..."

* * *

Foaly was actually relaxing for once and was sipping a cup of nettle when his computer blared making him spill the orange liquid all over his white lab coat.

"Aw, man! That's gonna be hard to get out, even with our purifiers!" Then he started to sulk, "I guess I better see what's in Frond's name is going on."

By dragging both of his hands over the keyboard, he located the problem--they were being pinged.

Foaly paled, "This.. is not good."

He rushed out of the Ops Booth in full gallop to the Commander's office. The double doors to the office were opened before he got there and landed on his "new" boss.

"D'Arvit! Foaly, get off of me!"

"Sorry, Trou--I mean, Commander."

Commander Trouble Kelp sighed, "How many times do I have to tell you, Foaly, just call me Trouble."

"Sorry."

He smiled, "I'm glad you're sorry... but can you get the hell off of me now?!"

Quickly, the centaur got up and pulled the elf with him and dusted his uniform. "Sorry."

"Just stop apologizing and tell me why you rushed in here in the first place."

"We got pinged."

Trouble blinked for a few moments and then scowled, "Well, why didn't you tell me instead of knocking me down?!"

"B-But I-I--"

"Never mind." He snapped, "Come on! Let's go."

And together they sped off towards the Ops Booth. When they got there, Holly was waiting and Foaly's computer was blinking a bright red light instead of blaring.

Foaly looked at his best friend dumbstruck, "When did you get here?"

"When the dumb siren wouldn't shut off. What's the problem?"

Foaly opened his mouth, but Trouble beat him to the punch, "We've been pinged."

Holly's face only showed fear and then it showed anger and looked at Foaly, "Well?! Who pinged us?"

"Will you two please let me concentrate?!" After a couple of five minutes, he announced, "The good news is it's an audio signal but..."

The male elf raised an eyebrow, "But...?"

"But it took me longer than usual because it's operating on a private but almost untraceable channel. Even with our technology, which shouldn't even be possible."

Holly looked at him, "Is there bad news?"

Foaly bit his lip and said in disbelief, "The signal's coming from Fowl's house."

The two elves lost the color in their faces as well. Holly swallowed and turned on her heel yelling as she looked back at them, "I'm gonna go pay him a visit!"

* * *

As Cassie snapped her phone shut for the second time, an unusual mixture of emotions overtook the palette of her face: content, happiness, calmness, and a faintly noticeable hint of wickedness was thrown in there as well.

The library door swung open and her long mahogany hair billowed and framed her face as a result.

"Cassandra?"

She noticed it as the bass tones of Butler layered with a hint of worriedness buried in there somewhere. She breathed in deeply and faced the massive man and his smaller charge with a "sad and worried" face, "It's my dad... he's--he's--"

Artemis looked her into her ocean blue eyes, "What's wrong with your father?"

Her eyes cascaded down to the terra cotta style flooring, "He got into an accident."

His own "blue" eyes had filled with worry and... understanding, "Would you like to cut this study session short?"

Cassandra smiled hopefully at him, "Please?"

Artemis returned the smile in a smaller scale, "Of course." He turned to Butler, "Warm up the Bentley please."

"Of course." Butler looked at his master's student, "Would you like me to take your bag as well?"

She shook her head, "No, no thank you, Butler. I.. I want to hold onto it, if you don't mind. To keep in touch with my mom."

He smiled at her and then looked at the young genius standing in front of him and his smile turned into a smirk.

_Looks like time travel has affected you... you and your feelings. But... I think it was our connections with our fairy friends... and not to mention puberty._

* * *

Holly was shielded and hovering right above the door, waiting for someone to come out. And by "someone" she was thinking Artemis and how she was going to kill him for pinging them.., again. But to her dismay, Butler came outside instead.

_Oh well, better than his mom, or dad.. or his baby brothers._

She mentally laughed at the last thing on that list and swooped down only to be caught in a bear hug by her grizzly friend. Holly looked at Butler through her visor and grinned, "How ya been?"

He grinned right back, turning his attention to the car, still holding her and speaking to her all at once, "I've been better.. yourself?"

"Okay."

"I take it something has happened?" He inquired while turning the engine on.

Holly nodded and wrestled out of her big friend's grasp, and went to perch on his shoulder instead, "Yes, something has happened. Foaly said we got pinged less than half an hour ago--"

"So you want Artemis and myself to go check out the suspects?"

"That won't be necessary."

Butler bent down, pretending to be checking something important under the car, "Why not?"

Holly bit her lip, "Because you two are the suspects."

The manservant stopped, and jerked upright so fast that Holly flew off (without her wings) and landed in the hedges. Butler's head darted in her direction, "What do you mean?"

Holly took a deep breath, "Listen, this is standard procedure. And I hav--"

"Captain, I will ask you again, what do you mean?"

"Like I said before, a phone signal that pinged us came from here less than a half hour ago and Foaly just wants me to make sure that you two didn't do anything stupid and mentioned us to Artemis' parents over the phone or something like that."

Butler looked confused, "But, the only person who even used a phone today was Cassandra."

"Who?"

"She's a girl that Artemis met during school today."

Holly couldn't help but snort, "What about that Minerva girl?"

"We haven't got around to telling her yet."

She nodded, "I see. Continue with this girl, Cassandra."

"Well.. Artemis is tutoring her and they just had their first session today."

"Are you sure it was a "study" session?"

"I was watching them from the security room."

"Anyway, did she happen to make a phone call?"

"She said her father was injured and we were about to go and take her to the hospital."

"Hmm... I'll be back later to tell you the details, but don't think that I won't be back."

Butler grinned, "We'll be waiting."

Holly smiled back and gave him a thumbs-up and then shimmered out of sight.

* * *

About 15 minutes later, Artemis, Butler, and Cassandra were on course to O'Reilly's where the injured father was being held... or so the two males thought. Butler was driving, but he could still hear the teens talking. But the weird thing was, he couldn't help but think that there was something fishy about the fairies being pinged while at the same time, Cassandra was on the phone. That thought alone troubled him, but he risked a glimpse of them in the rear view mirror. His charge looked as normal as he could remember him, but... he was smiling. Even his eyes were smiling!

I shouldn't ruin Artemis' chance of having a healthy relationship with a girl that he met in school. It'll be a good experience for him.

Butler smiled to himself at that last thought. He turned his head and saw the two of them smiling at each other, "Hey, we're here."

Cassandra looked at him with the most innocent blue eyes and smile and got out of the car without a word.

What was I thinking? She couldn't have been the one to ping our friends. Maybe Foaly and Holly are wrong...

Artemis got out of the car and followed Cassie so far as the front automatic doors.

He touched her arm which made her look at him, "What is it, Artemis?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come out.

_Another effect of puberty... when will the torment end?!_

Artemis finally got his train of thought back on track, "Would you like me to accompany you?"

Cassandra smiled gently, "Actually, Artemis, if you don't mind...I... kind of wanted to..."

He smiled sadly, "It's all right. I understand." Butler honked the horn signaling that he was getting annoyed. Artemis had to make this quick, "Uh, Cassandra?" He looked at the ground instead of her into her eyes like he would anybody else, "I-If you would like... we, uh, we could drop you off home when you're finished...?"

Since the genius' head was looking at the ground, she didn't notice the flabbergasted looked plastered on his face which was clearly saying: What in the world did I just say?! But he didn't notice the upset frown that came upon his invitee's face.

_Ugh! I don't have time for this! I need to get to Master Kane! But... maybe I could use this to my advantage..._

At that moment, Cassandra's frown turned into a devilish smirk which morphed into the innocent smile, "I don't think so Artemis." His head shot up and his eyes showed fear and sadness (which he was trying to mask, but failed). "But... maybe, we can hang out later?"

Artemis noticed that her face was tinged with a light pink and his face was tinged with a light red, "Tha-That'd be nice. When and where?"

"How about Saturday, your house, at... noon?"

"Perfect?"

Cassie giggled, "Is it a date?"

Artemis looked away at the word 'date' but said nevertheless, "It is a date."

He closed his eyes to calm himself down and the last thing he heard before heading back to the Bentley was her receding footsteps.


	9. Falling For Danger?

As Cassandra entered the empty waiting room free of people besides the occasional faculty worker and the lone boy sitting in the middle of the room. He was only a year older than Cassandra herself. He had short shaggy black hair with almond eyes and was wearing the normal attire of any other 15 year old male. He was listening to his iPod, or that's the way it looked. Cassandra sat behind him with her eyes trained on the television set but every word that flowed out of her mouth was barely above a whisper and directed to him.

"Is Melanie here yet, Lance?"

His voice was the same tone as Cassandra's, if not quieter, "No, she's not, Cassi-- Cassandra! I meant to say Cassandra!"

Lance quickly panicked and not because people were staring at the pair, but because he almost called her Cassie.

_Oh, c! Only Master can call her by her first name, unless they had a death wish. I'm just glad that I didn't finish saying... ugh! I'm too scared to even think it! If I finished saying "it" I would have been six feet under right about now. _

But he quickly regained his composure and risked a peek of her expression, he instantly regretted it, "I, uh, I'm sorry. B-But she's on her way... I-I-I just phoned her!"

Cassandra opened her mouth to say something but the squeak of doors opening made her stop. In walked a girl about the same age as her with blonde skater styled hair and steel blue grey eyes. She was wearing an orange tank top and camo cargo pants with black combat boots.

She was out of breath and took a seat next to Lance, "Am—Am I late?"

The brunette scoffed, "Only ten minutes."

"Sorry, Cassandra, I promise that I'll be on time the next meeting."

Cassandra glared at the television, but it still gave the two shivers, "You better be. Melanie."

"D-D-Don't worry, I'll be there early."

An uneasy silence washed over the group for the duration of the news broadcast on screen when Cassandra's cell rang.

"Hello?"

"Miss Cassandra, is everybody present?"

"Yes."

"I'm outside in front." Her icy blue eyes drifted to the window, and sure enough, the olive green Hummer was there, "We'll be out in two minutes." She stood up and without looking at her companions gave a single command, "Let's go."

They obediently followed. The three got in the large car with Lance in front with Nigel and the girls in the back. Cassandra was emotionlessly staring out the window while Melanie was silently hoping not to do anything to upset her female colleague.

* * *

Back at Fowl Manor, Artemis and Butler went into the study and the genius was greeted by a thwack in between his eyes—or as Holly likes to call it, "her stress reliever".

Butler caught the dazed Artemis looked at his friend, "Good afternoon, Holly."

As Artemis regained his vision he saw a holographic Foaly. "Good afternoon to you as well, Foaly. Where is No. I and Qwan?"

"I'll answer that for you. Qwan is still teaching No. 1 to get a hold of his powers… and besides the fact that they would attract too much attention even if Butler knew about them." She muttered that last part so the manservant couldn't hear.

Artemis got up and dusted off his Armani suit, "So, why have you come here?"

The fake Foaly gave him a stern look, "You know darn well why we're here, Mud Boy."

"I know, Butler told me all about it on the way back."

Foaly raised an eyebrow, "On the way back from where?"

"The hospital."

The centaur snorted, "Why? Did you get bruises from your first week as a big brother?"

He gave him a glare, "No, I was escorting a friend there because her father was injured."

"_Her_? You got a girlfriend already? It's only been a week! And besides, I thought that Minerva girl was your girlfriend?"

"No, she is not my 'girlfriend' and I only think of Minerva as a friend."

Holly rolled her eyes, "Uh-huh, whatever. So—"

"That's enough Holly. Now, I just need to ask you two a few simple questions. Have you made any phone calls today?"

"No." Artemis answered.

"Has anyone beside you or your family made any calls today here in Fowl Manor?"

"No, not any of us, but someone did."

"Who?"

Holly was spinning herself in the soft leather office chair and answered the question for Artemis, "A girl did…. Now what was her name again? You know, so Foaly—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. A girl made a call earlier today?"

Artemis nodded, "That's why we went to the hospital. Why? Is something wrong?"

Holly bit her lip, "Well… uh, you better listen to the clip."

In a few seconds, neither Artemis nor Butler couldn't believe their ears! They were listening to two distorted voices that both sounded clearly male.

"**Really, Master Kane?**"

"_Yes. Listen carefully... I now know why and how the target's son has been untraceable for the past three years and why he has recently reappeared._"

"**Oh?**"

"_Yes… with the aid of the eighth family of the People, the demons._"

"**The People, Master?**"

"_Yes, we know them as fairies here aboveground._"

"**They don't live up here?**"

"_No, the People reside deep in the center of the Earth with very advanced technology eons ahead of ours._"

"**But what do they have to do with the target's son?**"

"_Everything." _There was a brief pause,_ "We will continue this conversation in the Ruins. And make sure you are not late._"

"**Of course not, Master Kane.**"

"_I can always count on you... my—_"

Then the see-through Foaly heaved a sigh, "Then a magma flare went up and we lost the connection. By the time it cleared up, the conversation ended. But all I can say is that the person who organized this call was pretty smart to mask **both** ends of the conversation and is a danger to us as well as whomever this "target" is." He sighed, "I'm sorry, Artemis, but the prime suspect is--Artemis?"

Everybody turned to see their favorite boy genius looking out the window. Butler walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. He whispered in his charge's ear and even though Artemis couldn't see his facial expression, he knew that Butler was smiling, "You really like her don't you?"

Artemis just nodded and whispered back, "No but she just intrigues me bu..." He sighed, "I don't know how to explain, old friend."

"To me?"

"Yes… and more to myself."

"I'm sure that she didn't do it."

"And I hope _you_ know that Foaly's recording this."

The pair spun around to see a grinning Holly and Foaly.

"Don't worry, Mud Boy, I'm really taping this, even I would. But I just think I'll let you have this **_one_** private moment."

Butler rolled his eyes, "You're so generous, Foaly."

"I know. So, Artemis, enlighten us, who is this Mud Girl that you like?"

Artemis ignired the last part, "Her name is Cassandra Hemlock."

The holographic Foaly dissipated and a touchable screen came up which displayed all of Cassandra's information… well, at least what was recorded on the Internet.

* * *

Nigel, Cassandra, Lance, and Melanie had arrived at a large mansion that looked a lot like Dublin Castle. They all got out of the large vehicle and walked up to the large archway where four guards were awaiting them. The guards roughly grabbed them and forced the four to their knees while blindfolding them. Then they heaved them up and proceeded into the castle-like manor. The one that was carrying Cassandra was enjoying his job. After about five minutes, the medieval dressed guards set down their visitors and removed the blindfolds from them and shoved them into open doors where Master Kane was awaiting them.

As Cassandra got up from the floor, she fixed her knee-length jean skirt and smoothed out her light blue cotton shirt with a matching jean jacket. Then she finger combed her chestnut locks out.

After she was done with that, she glared to the man facing the windows, "Master Kane! Delvano was feeling me up again!"

He glanced at her with amber eyes, "I'll see to it. Now, on to the matters of our recent target..."

* * *

"Come on, Mud Boy! It's been over three hours!" Foaly whined.

"Just… five more minutes."

Holly glared at him and said through gritted teeth, "You said that two and a half hours ago."

Butler came up to his charge, "Artemis, your parents and Juliet are going to be home with the twins from day care any minute. Why don't you just download this onto your laptop and finish it later?"

He sighed, "All right, old friend."

He looked at the now on screen Foaly, "Can it be done?"

The techie grinned, "Already has. Oh, and good luck with your babysitting duties. Come on, Holly."

She grinned, "Yeah, if they're anything like you, you'll need the luck. Trust us, we know." She winked at his manservant, "Right, Butler?"

He grinned which oddly made him look like a bear, "Right. Now go, we'll see you later tonight for discussion."

"Midnight?"

"Fine."

"Okie-dokie then."

Then the LEP captain shimmered out of sight and a moment too soon."Arty! Butler! We're home!"

Artemis looked towards the front door where his parents were waiting and then back to his laptop. He walked over to the machine and closed it.

"_Are_ you hiding anything, Cassandra?" He whispered to himself quietly.

* * *

Nigel, Melanie and Lance were waiting outside the meeting room for Cassandra to come out since Master Kane had asked her to stay after.

"So, Lance, what do you think they're talking about?"

"I dunno, Mel. Maybe Master wanted to talk about her last mission with her." He looked to the stern man facing the opposite way, "What do you think, Nigel?"

"Personally, Master Lance, I think they are discussing the affection rules… again."

Melanie snorted, "You _actually _think Cassandra would fall for the guy?"

"Maybe, Miss Melanie, maybe."

"Yeah, Mel, you remember what happened to the last guy she gave her heart to?"

Her eyes drifted towards the colored glass windows, "Yeah. When it first happened, she changed so much. Not wanting to go outside, not wanting to be called Cassie anymore, for God's sake, Lance, she almost became a mute!"

Lance nodded, "Yeah…. Her eyes changed too." He smiled to himself, "Before he came, they were so full of life, but after… the thing… they, well, died."

She shook her head solemnly, "It took us three months to get her out of that…. It's been three years since then." She looked at both of her male companions, "You don't think—"

The mahogany door swung open and out walked their topic of conversation. Cassandra looked at them with the lifeless icy eyes, "We have work to do." And she then walked out towards the Hummer.

Lance sighed, _I want to help you, Cassandra, but how?_


	10. The Truth About Parents

12:01 am, Artemis' Study, Fowl Manor

As the grandfather clock in the hallway signaled it was midnight, Artemis made his way to his study adjacent his bedroom. Once inside, he found that Holly and an on-screen Foaly were chatting with Butler but stopped abruptly when he entered the room.

"Good morning, everyone."

Butler just nodded.

"Hey, Mud Boy."

"Did you even sleep?"

Sleep. That was a word Artemis had trouble using or doing. Ever since they had departed, he locked himself in his bedroom, scanning and memorizing everything there was about Cassandra Hemlock. Artemis had found out something about her that he found interesting...

However, Artemis ignored Holly's question and began the meeting, "Just recently, I had stumbled upon a piece of... intriguing information about Cassandra."

Foaly snorted, "Oh, really? And what might that be?"

Artemis walked over to his laptop and pulled up the most recent picture of Cassandra and her family. It has everything you needed for an average family: a mother, a father, and herself with the exception of Nigel Rivers.

"Foaly, what do you see here?"

"Cassandra and her family?"

He nodded enlarged the photo so that only the mother and father could be seen. "Holly, what do you see?"

"Cassandra's parents?"

"Correct, but that's where I found the startling information about her. You see... Cassandra's parents are deceased."

Like every piece of news that surprises people, they jaws hung wide open.

Holly then regained her composure, "What do you mean she has no parents?!"

The boy genius shrugged, "It's just that in a news clipping from three years ago while Holly and I were in limbo states that a couple was murdered in their hotel suite in Crete, Greece. Approximately four days later when her parents never came back, Cassandra Hemlock was notified that her parents were dead."

"But I don't remember downloading any newspaper articles about her."

"Because I found it in a stack of newspapers laying in my study. Twp things struck me as odd in the photo. One of them was that--" He adjusted it again so that it had cut out Nigel out of it, "--you see the tone of parents' skin?"

Foaly raised an eyebrow, "Other than a very bad tan, what are we supposed to be seeing?"

"Actually, that is what you are supposed to be seeing. Their skin color looks like it had been painted--or if you want to get technical sprayed on."

"And the other thing?"

"The other thing, Holly, was the captioning of the photo." He read it aloud, "Farrell and Gina Hemlock are shown with their daughter, Cassandra and her bodyguard, Nigel Rivers."

"So what's so bad about that?"

"Foaly, tell me the names of the mother and father of Cassandra that you have stored on your database."

"It's... Gannon and Fiona Hemlock?"

"Exactly."

"But then... who are the people in the photo?"

"I don't know yet. But I will find out at noon today."

Foaly grinned, "Why? Gotta a date with her?"

Artemis lied, "No, Foaly. I'm tutoring her."

"Whatever. So should we be on the look out for anything?"

"Anything that seems suspicious."

Holly shrugged, " Okay. See you later."

Foaly had shut himself off and Holly was about to fly out the window but then whispered in Butler ear, "I think he's lying."

Butler couldn't suppress a grin.


	11. Short Meetings

Feel free to check out my other account (lolza19) for my Naruto story. Keep reviewing!

* * *

**11:30 pm, Living Room, Hemlock Villa**

Melanie and Lance were listening to Cassandra as she was explaining the plan for Artemis Fowl's visit to her humble abode.

"But Cassandra, " Lance said, "What if he knows?"

She looked at her accomplice with icy orbs, "Then it'll save us trouble in the long run, Lance. Any more questions?" No one responded. "Good. Lance, I need you to find out what you know about this girl." The brunette produced a high resolution photo of a blond haired girl stepping out of a car.

"And you want me to eliminate her?"

"No. _I'll_ see to that myself."

Lance looked at Melanie. They both noticed the tone of voice Cassandra used; she wanted that girl out of the way. No matter what and _she_ would be the person to do it.

"Miss Cassandra?"

"What, Nigel?"

"Artemis' limo has pulled in."

She nodded and looked at Lance and Melanie, "Use the back door." Melanie shot out of the room, but Lance hesitated. "What is it, Lance?"

He looked at her eyes, "N-N-Nothing. Bye."

Just as she heard the back door close, Artemis walked in with Butler at his side. She smiled at him, "You made it."

"It seems I have."

Artemis couldn't help but think how difficult it must have been for Cassandra; to be raised without parents by a hired man.

_She's been raised by Nigel for three years. I at least had my mother with me... and my father a year after. But why did she have people pose as her parents over a month ago? And where are they now? I can't let her know that I'm investigating her for that... and about the 'ping' Foaly got recently._

"Artemis?"

"Sorry?"

"I said do you mind if we take a drive somewhere?"

"No. As long as--"

"Yes, Butler can come."

"Good."

"Nigel?"

"Yes, Miss Cassandra?"

"Warm up the Hummer so we leave."

"Of course."

"May I ask where are we going?"

He thought it was a trick of the light but a shadow came over Cassandra's face. But it disappeared as fast as it came.

"That's not important right now."

* * *

**1:30 pm, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, Somewhere in Town **

_I can't believe I'm doing this._

Lance thought as he was scouting the cafes for this blond haired girl Cassandra asked him to find. The onlt thing that stood out in the picture was the way her hair was styled; it was a mountain of curls and red rimmed sunglasses.

_Yeah, that's helpful. It's not like this girl--whoever she is-- will be wearing that exact same hairstyle and glasses. None of the blondes I know stay in the same hairstyle for more than a day or wear the same sunglasses for longer than 24 hours. Hey, is that her?_

Sure enough, there was the girl he was looking for sitting at a table on the patio. Sam height, same skin tone, same blond curls and there were red rimmed sunglasses hanging off her collar. And to his advantage, she had a shopping bag that was full perched precariously at the edge on the table.

_Now time for the classic thing to meet a girl._

And just like on those cheesy sitcoms, he sped up his walking and got closer to her table with every step. Five seconds later, his elbow came in contact with the bag and its contents spilled all over: cosmetics, a couple of wristlets, and a surprisingly to Lance, a book entitled 'Mensa Big Book of Acrostics'.

_Weird... But oh, well._

He flashed a heart melting smile, "Sorry!"

The girl's gaze lingered on him for awhile then bent down to pick up the fallen items. "It's okay."

"Let me help you."

Soon after, all of the things were picked up, Lance decided it would be best to finally see who _is_ this girl.

"I'm really sorry about knocking your things down."

"I told you it's fine."

"Uh, I'm Lance... Racer."

She smirked at the name, "I'm Minerva Paradizo. Take a seat."

Suddenly his watch beeped in what seemed like an alarm, a Morse code alarm; that was a sign to him to get his butt over to Master Kane's castle with whoever he supposed to find. He needed a plan... or else Cassandra would... well, he didn't want to think about it.

* * *

Feel free to check out my other account (lolza19) for my Naruto story. Keep reviewing!


End file.
